S&P Reduces Taiwan Rating
Amid Finance-Reform Worries

By

J.R. Wu Dow Jones Newswires

Updated Dec. 18, 2002 1:05 p.m. ET

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Standard & Poor's Corp. cut Taiwan's sovereign rating a notch to double-A-minus, a move that sends a strong warning to the government that concerns are growing over the pace of financial reform.

S&P downgraded Taiwan's long-term credit ratings from a double-A that it last affirmed a year ago, putting its rating on par with the sovereign ratings of Japan and Hong Kong in S&P's sovereign universe. The...